Project Manager: Kenn Taylor

Edited by: Shane Gladstone, Dave McTague, Kenn TaylorGraphic Design and Layout: Jasmine Gladstone & Paul DonnellySub-editing: Shane Gladstone, Kenn Taylor, Craig ThompsonCover Illustration: Eno [epoch.of.eno@googlemail.com]Production Manager: Dave McTague Distributed by: Another Media

Contact: liverpoolmagazine@gmail.comPrinted and bound in Liverpool by redwood [www.redwoodltd.co.uk] The producers wish to thank Nick Maylan for his contribution to the project

The producers wish to thank all the contributors for their effort, andalso everyone who supported them the during this project.

This book is entirely self funded and could not have been producedwithout the support of redwood press

When We set out to create this book, We decided that, after several years of media sensationalism and criticism on ‘culture capital’, we wanted Liverpool’s residents to have their own say on their city.

We wanted all sides of Liverpool’s population, from naive newcomers to stoical stalwarts, to have the chance to tell some of their stories of the city, warts and all. Delve into Liverpool’s history, examine its present and look into its future.

We also wanted, in our own arrogant way, to have the final word on Liverpool as it reached the climax of its year of culture, a crunch time in what the city ’s future may be.

But we soon realised there is no final word. The city is always moving and changing, constantly shifted around on the often brutal tides of the world and carrying along in its slipstream, an ever changing population.

We can’t have the final word, because there isn’t one, not for now at least. Liverpool probably isn’t on the cusp of a new Golden Age, but the city probably has its best chance in a while of a long-term future.

It may be twenty years or more before we can evaluate 2008 and how it changed the city, if at all. The world is on the edge of great changes again and Liverpool, as ever the global city, is likely to be affected by this too. But this is definitely a new chapter, and that is something to celebrate.

So, this isn’t the final word, hopefully, on Liverpool, this is just some stories from the city, a few views from a few people that we hope you find interesting, wherever you’re from. Many of you may disagree, perhaps even be offended by the contents. In which case, don’t sit there brooding, make your own case, create your own image of this city and see how well it fits. But remember, this town is hard to tie down.